Vida Guerra

Vida Guerra

Vida Guerra (born March 19, 1980 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban-born beauty who made the trip over to the United States mainstream as a model, occasional actress and singer. Her first notable appearance was in a photo shoot for the United States edition of FHM magazine in 2002, and since then, she has modeled for many other men's magazines, including the lucrative launching board, Playboy. Subsequently, she has become one of the world’s most-lusted after women, and early last year she even cracked the top 10 most searched names of female celebrities on the Internet, joining the likes Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, Carmen Electra and Oprah Winfrey.

Early Life

Born in Havana, Cuba, Guerra moved with her family to the United States when she was just six years old; they ended up in the town of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. In interviews, Guerra has said that she was teased when she was younger because of the size of her butt, which was rather large for someone of her otherwise small stature. Outgoing, even at that young age, Guerra quickly adapted to the new country and culture. She began getting involved in dance and some modeling, strutting around in a G-string when she was 18 for a fashion show in her hometown of Perth Amboy.

Growing up she entered a couple of runway shows modeling swimwear, and appeared in a few music videos. Guerra's first taste of fame came after successfully auditioning for a Big Pun video called "New York to New Orleans." She sat next to the now deceased rapper and grooved to the beat throughout the song which, unfortunately, did not get much play on television music stations. Following this slight exposure, Guerra returned to her normal life: she took a job as a loans officer, but still kept her eye out for modeling opportunities whenever they came

Rise to Fame

After browsing through an FHM magazine, a close (and very wise) friend suggested she send in pictures of herself. With nothing to lose, Guerra did just that. Upon receiving Guerra’s photos, FHM felt they fit in perfectly with a recent search for "everyday" women in lingerie. The pictures were posted in the December 2002 issue of the magazine and though they were very good, Guerra thought nothing more of the opportunity until readers bombarded FHM with letters demanding more of the Cuban beauty with the large booty.

Overwhelmed with the response, the magazine called Guerra back and asked her to officially pose for them. Jumping at the opportunity, Guerra agreed and was featured very scantily clad in both the March and May 2003 issues. Now that her face and body was out there, people began to take notice. The St. Louis rap group, Naturally Smooth, even asked her to pose for its album cover. She was honored at the end of 2003 with FHM's "Rear of the Year" award and was then cast as a muse in the comedy short “Writer's Block.”

Since then, she has been featured on the front cover as well as on the inside of many magazines, including DUB magazine, Smooth, Escape, and Open Your Eyes (Abre Tus Ojos), and has made multiple appearances on several Spanish language television programs such as “El Gordo y La Flaca (The Fat Man and the Skinny Woman).”

Guerra has also become a staple in music videos, appearing in "Shake Your Tailfeather" (P. Diddy, Nelly and Murphy Lee, from the Bad Boys 2 Soundtrack) and "The New Workout Plan" (Kanye West), in "Obsession" (Frankie J) among others. Additionally, she has appeared in Burger King's Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch commercial, a couple of sketches on Dave Chappelle's comedy show on Comedy Central, such as the infamous "Piss On You" videos (spoofing the infamous R. Kelly sex tape), and also appeared in the film National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2. Guerra lent her voice to the video game Scarface: The World Is Yours.

She became "FHM's Model of the Year" in 2004, and she also created a calendar for troops serving in the Middle East (and one for FHM), and she continues to be a hot commodity.

In April 2005, in an event reminiscent of Paris Hilton's similar misfortunes with her mobile phone, Guerra's camera phone was allegedly hacked: dozens of her photos, including nude pictures as well as personal photos, were posted on the Internet and disseminated widely. In interviews, Guerra said the nude body images were of another woman, and that they were presented along with actual non-nude camera phone images of herself to give the appearance that she was the naked woman pictured. However, her record label at the time maintained that the photos were legitimate, and accused Guerra of leaking them deliberately as a publicity stunt. Guerra was dropped by the label over this incident.

Guerra was recently voted Number 26 in FHM's "Top 100 Sexiest Females" list and is twice the winner of the magazine's "Best Butt" Award. To capitalize on this fame, Guerra has made her own calendar, featuring more pictures of her. She has also appears on “Primped,” produced by GoTV Networks, where Guerra helps three "average" women become "primped” and done up to look beautiful.

She was named #26 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement, and named #21 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement.

Despite not posing nude for formal photo shoots in the past, Guerra appeared fully nude in the July 2006 issue of Playboy. She said that she had agreed to pose partly because she felt that they would do it with class, and partly because, due to the hacked phone incident, she wanted people to know what she really looked like naked, and not confuse her with some other woman. She also appeared in the January/February 2007 issue of FHM.

Music Career

The first track from Guerra's self titled debut album was leaked onto the internet on November 2, 2006. The song is titled "You Got Me." Her CD is believed to feature Paul Wall, Mike Jones, and a few other unconfirmed artists. It has been reported that Guerra both sings and raps on the album. It was voted number one on Telemundo's special, "Best New Album Debuts." It was announced on her DVD, Vida Guerra Exposed, that her self titled album will be released on February 2007 by In Ya Face Records.

Personal Life

Now a recognized model, Guerra grabbed more headlines after appearing with tight end Jeremy Shockey of the New York Giants at the opening of Jay-Z's New York nightclub. The relationship did not last long.

She has a dog named Cocoa, and her measurements are listed as 34C, 25, 37 according to IMDBs trivia page.

She says that she goes to the gym three or four times a week, and tries “to eat healthy when I can and drink a lot of water. It really sucks to exercise but a girl has to do what a girl has to do.”

She also says that she wants “to get more into acting and become an actress,” and “That’s my one and only goal right now."